My songwriting influences range from Pete Seeger to Ray Davies, from the Beatles to Tom Lehrer, with a strong steer from Tom Paxton and to a lesser extent Bob Dylan. Harvey Andrews is in there too, as are some of the writers of the New Testament.
Musically, I've been influenced by hundreds of singer/guitarists, rock bands, music-hall acts and friends, and I try not to sound like anyone in particular.
Sounds Like
As a solo performer I sound like some old bloke with a guitar, and occasionally without one. I try to sound like Brian Hooper rather than anyone else. Obviously as an instrumentalist I sound like Martin Simpson, Doc Watson, Simon Mayor or Jack Bruce, depending what instrument I happen to be playing at the time. Dream on.
I've been singing in folk clubs and suchlike since the 1960s, and singing mostly my own compositions since 2006 or thereabouts. I've run folk clubs and festivals, played in pubs, clubs, concerts, festivals and community gatherings, been featured on local radio (and once on national radio), had my own column in 'Folk On Tap' magazine for many years, and literally wrote the book on MCing folk clubs - it's called "So You Want To Be A Folk Club MC?". I've been the resident MC at the Foc's'le Folk Club in Southampton since the late 1970s, with the occasional break in service.
I've also been singing with "After The Rain" at St James Road Methodist Church in Southampton since the mid-90s.
My recording debut was in 1980 with a song on "Flour Of The Forest", a promotional EP for the then newly-restored Eling Tide Mill near Southampton. In 1992 the group I was in, "Cats Whiskers", released a cassette album, then in 2002 came "Hooperman In The Can", my first CD. Jeff Henry and I released "Southampton In Song" on the Forest Tracks label in 2005, and then in 2006 came an album of self-penned songs, "A Year In Providence". I've just completed a CD of my Christian songs, called "He Set Me Free" and I'm giving it away free to people who might appreciate it - just ask (but I may ask you to pay postage). And another album is almost complete, called "May Contain Nuts" but it actually contains 7 of my songs and 6 of Jeff Henry's.
The songs you can hear here on MySpace include something explicitly Christian, something with an environmental message and something that isn't either of those.
